Drake and Chris Brown sued for $5 million for copyright infringement
Drake and Chris Brown previously engaged in a very public feud during the 2010s. In 2012, there were reports of a brawl involving the two at a New York nightclub, and there was a lot of tension between the pair. However, since then, they have managed to reconcile and even work together.
That said, in 2019, the two stars joined forces to create the smash single ‘No Guidance,’ which reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of that year’s defining anthems. However, the track has landed the artists in some legal trouble, as they have now been sued for allegedly stealing the melody and structure of a song by Tykeiya Dore titled ‘I Got It’.
Dore filed a lawsuit in New Jersey for $15million, alleging copyright infringement against Brown and Drake. As reported by AllHipHop, the lawsuit claims that ‘No Guidance’ mimics the “chord progressions, tempo, pitch, key, melody, harmony, rhythm, structure, phrasing, and lyrics” of Dore’s 2016 release.
One figure cited in the lawsuit is longtime friend and Drake collaborator Vinylz. Benji Filmz, the director of Dore’s ‘Igot It’ music video, has alleged that he has evidence that Vinylz regularly checks his YouTube account and sees his work.
The lawsuit highlights this, claiming, “Defendant Anderson Hernandez, professionally known as Vinylz, discovered and obtained access to Tykeiya’s song ‘I Got It’ and Cardi B’s songs on Benji Filmz YouTube channel.”
The legal filing even aims at Google and YouTube, who, Dore claims, took down a copyright comparison video between the visuals for ‘I Got It’ and ‘No Guidance’, highlighting the similarities. The vocalist is suing YouTube and Google for “defamation, common law fraud and emotional distress.”
Drake and Chris Brown have faced similar allegations before. In 2022, Brandon Cooper and his producer Timothy Valentine sued the two artists, along with Noah ’40’ Shebib for copying their 2016 ‘I Love Your Dress’. The lawsuit similarly centred around ‘No Guidance’.
However, the two artists dismissed the allegations outright and quickly released a statement reading, “It is implausible to assume that every musician in Toronto collaborates and shares music with Drake.” Drake and Chris Brown have not responded to Dore’s new lawsuit.
Drake has been in a vulnerable position since his loss to Kendrick Lamar earlier this year and, for him, this lawsuit could not have come at a worse time in his career.
Neither Drake or Chris Brown have responded to news of the lawsuit.